Automatic head for drum stapling machines



Dec. 8, 1936. L. PARDINI v AUTOMATIC HEAD FOR DRUM STAPLING MACHINES Filed Jan. 22, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORT if; PMM BY 73%, fimzf ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC HEAD FOR DRUM STAPLING MACHINES 9 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in stapling machinesespecially adapted for operating upon cylindrical containers such for example as the veneer drums and baskets used for the transportation of fruit.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an automatic head or work holder adapted to grip and hold the container and to rotate it through one complete revolution while the stapling operation is performed upon it. Other objects of the invention are to provide means for automatically locating the work with relation to the staple applying mechanism; to provide means for holding the veneer strip which is customarily placed inside the container and through which the staples are clinched; and to provide means, as a safety feature, to stop the operation of the machine at any time before the end of its normal cycle. Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form thereof, which should be read with the understanding that changes, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the several parts herein shown and described.

Reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a part sectional side elevation of the complete machine.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation on a larger scale of the head or work holder.

Fig. 4 is a part sectional rear elevation of the head or work holder and is taken on the line 44 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the head taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a broken plan of the head taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a central section through the end portion of a veneer drum showing the parts in position to be united together by the stapling operation of the machine.

Fig. 8 is a detailed section of the starting mechanism taken on the line 88 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a detailed side elevation of the brake mechanism for preventing reverse rotation of the head.

In the drawings, the reference numeral Ill designates the frame or column of a power, stapling machine of well known form. Through said column extends a vertically reciprocating rod ll carrying an arm I2 at its upper end. The arm 5 l2 in turn carries the operating plunger l3 of the stapling mechanism, which is mounted within a casing M, the latter being carried from the column [0 by a fixed arm [5. The reciprocating rod II is operated by a crank it secured upon the end of a shaft l1 and the latter is rotated by a pulley I8 through a controllable clutch mechanism I9. So much is the usual construction of a power stapling machine. The details both of the stapling mechanism inclosed within the casing l4, and of the controlling clutch l9, form no part of the present invention, and have been omitted from the drawings for the sake of clearness. Suflice it to say that upon each downward stroke of the rod H and plunger IS, a staple is ejected from the bottom of the casing Id and is driven through the work, not shown, which is placed immediately beneath said casing.

The particular machine herein shown and described, by way of example, as an embodiment of the invention, is designed for stapling together the inner and outer circumferential rings and the cylindrical side or body of a veneer drum of the type used for the transportation of fruit. The end portion of such a drum is shown in Fig. 7 and comprises a cylindrical side or body wall 20, an outer ring 2!, two spaced inner rings 22 and 23 and an end or head 24.

In assembling the parts of the drum shown in Fig. 7, it is customary first to apply the outer ring 2| around the body or side wall 20 and to hold it in place by means of tacks or staples. The inner ring 22 is then positioned within the body 20 at the proper distance from its end 25, and is tacked or stapled. The head 24 is then placed against the ring 22 and the second inner ring 23 is placed against the outer surface of the head and is tacked or stapled, the tacks or staples of both rings 22 and 23 extending through the body 20 and the outer ring 2|. In usual practice, the foregoing operations are performed by hand, requiring considerable time and skill to position the inner ring 22 at the proper distance from the end of the body, and to drive the tacks or staples through the two inner rings successively.

The operations described in the preceding paragraph, with the exception of placing the head 24 in position, are performed automatically by the herein described machine embodying the present invention, at a great saving in both time and 50 labor, and with greater accuracy as to the positioning of the head 24 with relation to the end of the drum.

A fixed bracket 26, Fig. 1, extends forwardly from the column Ill and carries a sidebracket 21 in which is mounted a horizontal forwardly extending stub shaft 28, shown in detail in Fig. 5. Upon the shaft 28 is mounted a rotatable head 29. A portion of the periphery 36 of said head has a diameter corresponding to the inside diameter of the body of the drum to be stapled. The head also has an outwardly extending flange 3| which forms an abutment against which the end of the drum body 20 is placed to locate it in proper position for stapling.

The head 29 carries a chuck mechanism adapted to hold the drum 20 in position and to clamp the inner ring 22 against it during the stapling operation. The chuck comprises a plurality of radially disposed sliding blocks 32 mounted in radial apertures 33 in the forward outer portion of the head 29. As shown in the drawings, the blocks 32 and their guide apertures 33 are cylindrical, although any other shape may be used without affecting the result. The blocks 32 are provided with angularly disposed grooves 34 which engage spirally shaped cams 35 formed upon the outer face of a plate or disk 36, as shown in elevation in Fig. 3 and in section in Fig. 5. The cam disk 36 is concentric with the head 29 and is rotatable with respect to it through a short arc, the relative rotation between the disk and the head causing the blocks 32 to move radially outwardly or inwardly according to the direction of such relative rotation.

The head 29 is provided with a pair of arcuate slots 31 through which extend pins 38 and 39 secured to the back of the cam disk 36, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. These slots and pins limit the relative rotation between the cam disk and the head, and springs 40 tend to hold said disk at one limit of its movement relative to the head. The position of the cam disk, relative to the head, shown in the drawings holds the blocks 32 retracted inwardly, and the springs 40, when permitted to function by mechanism to be described later, rotate the disk to a position in which the blocks 32 are moved radially outwardly. When said blocks 32 are moved outwardly they expand the inner drum ring 22 against the inside of the drum body 26, thereby both holding said ring 22 in position against said body and holdingsaid body in position upon the head 29. The outer ends of the blocks 32 are formed as anvils against which the staples are driven and by which the ends of said staples are clinched. Thus, with the drum held in position as described above, as the head 29 is rotated bodily by mechanism to be described later, each successive block 32 is brought directly beneath the stapling mechanism in the casing l4, and at such times said mechanism operates to drive a staple through the assembled outer and inner rings and the body of the drum.

The head 29 is rotated in a step by step motion by means of a ratchet mechanism best shown in Fig. 4. A ratchet wheel 4| is secured upon the hub 42 of the head 29, and is engaged by a pawl 43 carried by a lever 44 journaled about said hub. The lever 44 is rocked, at each stroke of the main vertical rod H, by a connecting rod 45 suitably coupled to the arm l2 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Thus at each upward .or return stroke of the stapling mechanism the head 29 is rotated one step in the direction as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. In order to stop the head after each step movement at the proper position to locate one of the blocks 32 directly beneath the stapling mechanism, the outer periphery of said headis formed with ratchet teeth 46 .adapted to be engaged by a stop pawl 41, Figs. 3 and 4. An arm 48, Fig. 4, extends downwardly from the pawl 41 and is engaged by a cam 49 on the lever 44, so that as said lever approaches the end of its return movement, the pawl 41 is raised out of its notch in the periphery of said head. Upon the operative stroke of the lever 44, the pawl 41 again drops upon the periphery of the head and engages the next succeeding notch 46. In order to prevent the head from rotating in the reverse direction during the return movement of the lever 44, there is provided a brake mechanism, shown in Fig. 9, comprising a plunger 50 pressed by a spring 5| against the rear face 29 of the head 29.

The mechanism for controlling the rotation of the head and the relative rotation between the cam disk 36 and said head will now be described. The base of the machine carries the usual treadle 52, Figs. l and 2, which is connected by a bar 53 with a bell crank 54. The other end of said bell crank operates a horizontal sliding bolt 55 mormted in a fixed support 55. The forward end of said bolt is positioned to engage the pin 39, Fig. 5, extending from the cam disk 36. Therefore,

When the treadle 52 is depressed the bolt 55 is drawn rearwardly and frees the pin 39, whereupon the springs 49, Fig. 4, shift the cam disk relative to the head 29 to the opposite limit of its movement, thereby expanding the clutch blocks 32 and causing them to grip the work. Beneath the treadle 52 is a transversely slidable latch 51, Figs. 1 and 8. Depression of the treadle 52, by contact with an inclined surface 58 on said latch, moves it toward the left as seen in Fig. 8. The latch also has a portion 59 normally resting beneath the pulley clutch lever 60, and

when said latch is moved' transversely by the.

depression of the treadle 52, the lever 60 is allowed to drop, thereby engaging the pulley clutch through suitable connecting mechanism indicated at Si in Fig. 1. The lever 60 is connected through a bar 62 with a bell crank 63, which operates a horizontally slidable bolt 64 mounted in the support 56. The dropping of the clutch lever 66 causes the bolt 64 to be moved forwardly, so that its end extends into the path of a cam 65. projecting from the rear face of the head 29, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Therefore, when the head has made one complete revolution, the inclined face of the cam 65"ridesallows the latch 51 to be returned by its spring 66 to its original position, thereby resetting the controlrnechanism for a subsequent operation. A hand lever 61, Fig. l, is provided to raise the bar 62 and the clutch lever 66 if it should be necessary to stop the machine before it completes its cycle of one complete revolution of the head 29.

In operating the machine, the operator-first wraps a strip of veneer of the proper length around the forward portion of the head 29 over the chuck blocks 32, inserting the ends of said strip beneath a clip '61, Fig. 3, which holds them in position. This strip forms the inner ring 22 of the drum. He then fits the end of the drum body 29, around which the outer ring 2| has been previously placed and temporarily secured, over the peripheral face 36 0f the head and against the flange 32. This locates the ring 22 at the proper distance from the end of the body. Pressure on the treadle 52 releases the chuck disk 35, which is turned in the head 29 by the springs 46], thereby forcing the blocks 32 outwardly and expanding the ring 22 tightly against the interior of the body 20. The same pressure on the treadle 52 also causes the clutch l9 to be engaged, thereby starting the reciprocating movement of the stapling spindle l3 and the intermittent rotation of the head 29. At each downward stroke of the spindle I3, a staple is driven through the outer ring 2|, the body 20, and the inner ring 22, and is clinched under the latter by contact with one of the blocks 32. At each upward stroke, the head 29 is advanced one step, and this process continues automatically until said head has made a complete revolution, whereupon the clutch I9 is automatically disengaged by contact between the cam 65 and the bolt 64. The raising of the clutch lever 60 also causes the latch 51 to raise the treadle 52 thus restoring the bolt 55 to its forward position, in which it engages the pin 39 of the chuck disk 36, so that said disk is held stationary during the final few degrees of rotation of the head 29, thereby contracting the chuck blocks 32 and freeing the drum.

The operator then removes the drum, and inserts the drum head 24 against the stapled inner ring 22. He also wraps another strip around the chuck head 29, over the blocks 32, and places the end of the drum over it. This second strip forms the ring 23, and in this operation the endwise position of the drum upon the chuck is limited by contact between the drum head 24 and the forward face of the chuck. The stapling operation is then repeated, this time fastening the ring 23, body 20, and ring 2| together, thereby completing the drum.

It will be apparent that the size and shape of the head 29 must correspond to the interior of the object being worked upon. It may be circular, as shown, or polygonal, or slightly conical to fit a tapered basket rather than a drum, or of any other desired shape. Likewise the position of the head 29, with respect to the stapling mechanism designated generally by the reference numeral M, may be changed to accommodate various sizes of heads, and for this purpose the bracket 26 is understood tobe adjustable upon the column it]. It is also to be understood that the mechanism I4 is not necessarily restricted to a true stapling mechanism but may be any generally similar device such as a nailing or wire stitching mechanism.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for the described purpose comprising a stapling mechanism, a work holding head positioned in operative relation thereto, expansible chuck means carried by said head for gripping the interior of a hollow object, means for rotating said head to present successive portions of said object to said stapling mechanism, and means controlled by the rotation of said head for operating said chuck means.

2. An apparatus for the described purpose comprising a stapling mechanism, a work holding head positioned in operative relation thereto, chuck means carried by said head for gripping an object to be stapled, means for rotating said head in timed relation to the operation of said stapling mechanism, and means for simultaneously operating said chuck and starting the rotation of said head.

3. An apparatus for the described purpose comprising a stapling mechanism, a work holding head positioned in operative relation thereto, chuck means carried by said head for gripping an object to be stapled, means for rotating said head through a predetermined angular distance to present successive portions of said object to said stapling mechanism, and means for simul taneously controlling the operation of said chuck and the rotation of said head.

4. An apparatus for the described purpose comprising a stapling mechanism, a work holding head positioned in operative relation thereto, a plurality of extensible chuck members carried by said head for gripping the interior of a hollow object, means for rotating said head to present successive portions of said object to the stapling mechanism, and means for automatically extending said chuck members at the beginning of said rotation and retracting them at the end thereof.

5. A work holder for stapling machines comprising a rotatable head, a plurality of chuck members radially movable therein, extensible from the periphery thereof to grip the interior of a hollow object, means for rotating said head through a predetermined angular distance, means for extending said chuck members substantially simultaneously with the beginning of rotation of said head, and mechanism actuated by the final movement of said head for retracting said chuck members.

6. A work holder for stapling machines comprising a rotatable head, a plurality of extensible chuck members carried thereby for gripping the interior of a hollow object, a disk rotatable with respect to said head, connections between said disk and said chuck members whereby said members are extended and retracted by relative rotary movement between said disk and said head, means for rotating said head, and means for producing said relative movement between said disk and said head at the beginning and end of the rotation of said head.

7. A work holder for drum stapling machines comprising a rotatable head having peripheral portions of two difierent diameters, the larger portion having substantially the same diameter as the interior of the drum to be stapled, means carried by the smaller portion for temporarily holding a ring to be stapled to the interior of the drum, expansible chuck means carried by said smaller portion for expanding said ring against the interior of the drum, means for rotating said head, and means for expanding and contracting said chuck means automatically in timed relation to the rotation of said head.

8. A work holder for stapling machines comprising a rotatable head, a chuck carried thereby for gripping an object to be stapled, means for rotating said head, and means for simultaneously controlling the rotation of said head and the operation of said chuck.

9. A work holder for stapling machines comprising a rotatable head, a chuck carried thereby for gripping an object to be stapled, a member coaxial with said head. and rotatable therewith, said member and said head being relatively movable, connections between said chuck and said member whereby said chuck is operated by the relative movement between said member and said head, means for rotating said head, and means controlled by the rotation of said head for producing said relative movement between it and said member.

LOUIS PARDINI. 

